The 1997 Ardabil earthquake occurred on 28 February with a

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

of 6.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (''Severe''). The

strike-slip earthquake In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

occurred in northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, near the city of

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbai ...

Background and tectonics

Ardabil and the surrounding province which bears its name are agricultural lands, primarily populated by

Azeris Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nu ...

. Two other earthquakes damaged northern Iran the month before, killing at least 79 people.

Damage and casualties

The earthquake occurred at 12:57 UTC (4:27 p.m.

Iran Standard Time Iran Standard Time (IRST) or Iran Time (IT) is the time zone used in Iran. Iran uses a UTC offset UTC+03:30. IRST is defined by the 52.5 degrees east meridian, the same meridian which defines the Iranian calendar and is the official meridian o ...

) and lasted for 15 seconds. At least 1,100 people were killed, 2,600 injured, 36,000 homeless, 12,000 houses damaged or destroyed and 160,000 livestock killed in the

area of northwestern Iran. Severe damage was observed to roads, electrical power lines, communications and water distribution systems around Ardabil. Hospitals and other medical buildings were overflowing with patients as a result of the earthquake. More than 83 villages experienced some form of damage. Within the village of Villadareh, 85 corpses were recovered from the rubble. In Varania, another small village near the epicenter that had previously had a population of 85, all but 20 residents had perished.

Aftershocks

Roughly 350 aftershocks followed the main Ardabil earthquake. The largest one had a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale. Aid workers and rescuers approximate death toll as high as 3,000.

Aftermath and relief efforts

In the aftermath of the tremor, of snow fell, hampering rescue efforts. The Iranian government declared three days of mourning to honor victims. Iranian president visited the damaged area on 4 March. Rescue workers at the scene disputed the official government death toll, claiming it was as much as three times higher. Nonetheless, head of the Iranian Branch of

Red Crescent The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi (1926–1999) was head of the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran. During political turmoil in Tehran following the 1987 Iranian pilgrim riots in Saudi Arabia, Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi appeared on telev ...

was satisfied with the pace of relief work. More than 8,700 tents, 21,800 blankets, 15,300 heaters and lanterns, 2,000 bottles of baby formula and 80 tons of bread were given to the victims. Additionally, 60 ambulances, 127 trucks and vans and two helicopters transported victims, relief workers, and supplies to and from the affected region.

Air crash

On 3 March, a small aircraft on a relief mission crashed about 16 miles (25 km) northeast of Ardabil. Its wreckage was discovered the following day. There were four people on board the Falcon aircraft but no survivors. The crash was blamed on poor weather and heavy snowfall.

References

External links

* {{Portalbar, Iran 1997 Ardabil

Ardabil earthquake History of Ardabil Province February 1997 events in Asia 1997 disasters in Iran